Directionally oriented interfaces and systems and methods for the same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed embodiments relate, generally, to directionally oriented keyboards for interfacing with a virtual workspace, including applications executing therein, and related systems, methods, and devices. A selectable object of an invoked directionally oriented keyboard may be selected responsive to directional information. Directional information may be provided by a user input device such as a thumbstick device or video capture device. A selectable object and/or information associated with the selectable object may be provided to a business application that is associated with an invoked directionally oriented keyboard.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/271,613, filed Feb. 8, 2019, will issue on Jul. 5, 2022 as U.S. Pat.No. 11,379,051, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/628,486, filed Feb. 9,2018, the entire contents and disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedherein by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to interfacesthat may be used in virtual reality environments, and more specifically,in certain embodiments, directionally oriented keyboards.

BACKGROUND

Conventional virtual reality environments may be used to mimic thephysical objects, functions and behavior of conventional a physicalcomputer workspace. Some virtual reality engines use different systemsto interface with a virtual environment, for example, gloves, wands, andthumbsticks. The particular interface is used with the virtual workspacethat is generated by the virtual reality engine.

Conventional virtual reality interfaces may map to a typical point andclick type interface used with conventional graphical user interfaces onphysical displays. A user moves a cursor over a simulated keyboard and“clicks” (pushes a button, waves a hand, etc.) to select a key. Otherconventional virtual reality interfaces may create virtual hands thatmay interact with the simulated objects (e.g., a “floating” keyboardand/or mouse) in the virtual reality, and a user may operate the virtualhands by moving his/her physical hands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed incolor. Copies of this patent or patent application publication withcolor drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and paymentof the necessary fee. The purpose and advantages of the embodiments ofthe disclosure will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art fromthe summary in conjunction with the detailed description and appendeddrawings that follow:

FIG. 1A shows a graphical user interface of a directionally orientedinterface, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B shows a graphical user interface of a directionally orientedkeyboard, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1C shows a graphical user interface of a directionally orientedkeyboard, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a system that provides a directionally oriented interfacein a virtual reality environment, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a process for invoking a directionally oriented keyboard,such as the directionally oriented keyboard shown in FIG. 1C, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A shows a process for selecting an object in a directionallyoriented keyboard, such as the directionally oriented keyboard shown inFIG. 1C, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B shows a process for selecting an object in a directionallyoriented keyboard, such as the directionally oriented keyboard shown inFIG. 1C, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4C shows a process for selecting an object in a directionallyoriented keyboard, such as the directionally oriented keyboard shown inFIG. 1C, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a layout of a graphical user interface representingdirectionally oriented menus, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5C shows an alternative layout of a graphical user interfacerepresenting a directionally oriented keyboard, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6A shows a directionally oriented keyboard including fractalkeyboards, in accordance with an embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6B shows an overlay of directions onto fractal keyboards,respectively, to illustrate alignment of directions with selectableobjects, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6C shows an example of a key layout that corresponds to a QWERTYkey layout standard, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a virtual workspace in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a virtual workspace in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which are shown,by way of illustration, specific examples of embodiments in which thepresent disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art topractice the present disclosure. However, other embodiments may beutilized, and structural, material, and process changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the disclosure. The illustrationspresented herein are not meant to be actual views of any particularmethod, system, device, or structure, but are merely idealizedrepresentations that are employed to describe the embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The drawings presented herein are not necessarilydrawn to scale. Similar structures or components in the various drawingsmay retain the same or similar numbering for the convenience of thereader; however, the similarity in numbering does not mean that thestructures or components are necessarily identical in size, composition,configuration, or any other property.

It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments asgenerally described herein and illustrated in the drawing could bearranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.Thus, the following description of various embodiments is not intendedto limit the scope of the present disclosure, but is merelyrepresentative of various embodiments.

The following description may include examples to help enable one ofordinary skill in the art to practice the disclosed embodiments. The useof the terms “exemplary,” “by example,” “for example,” “e.g.,” and thelike means that the related description is explanatory, and though thescope of the disclosure is intended to encompass the examples and legalequivalents, the use of such terms is not intended to limit the scope ofan embodiment or this disclosure to the specified components, steps,features, functions, or the like.

Thus, specific implementations shown and described are only examples andshould not be construed as the only way to implement the presentdisclosure unless specified otherwise herein. Elements, circuits,modules, engines, and functions may be shown in block diagram form inorder not to obscure the present disclosure in unnecessary detail.Conversely, specific implementations shown and described are exemplaryonly and should not be construed as the only way to implement thepresent disclosure unless specified otherwise herein. Additionally,block definitions and partitioning of logic between various blocks isexemplary of a specific implementation. It will be readily apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosure may bepracticed by numerous other partitioning solutions. For the most part,details concerning timing considerations and the like have been omittedwhere such details are not necessary to obtain a complete understandingof the present disclosure and are within the abilities of persons ofordinary skill in the relevant art.

Those of ordinary skill in the art would understand that information andsignals may be represented using any of a variety of differenttechnologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands,information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referencedthroughout this description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof. Some drawings may illustratesignals as a single signal for clarity of presentation and description.It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that thesignal may represent a bus of signals, wherein the bus may have avariety of bit widths and the present disclosure may be implemented onany number of data signals including a single data signal.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedor performed with a general purpose processor, a special purposeprocessor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Integrated Circuit (IC),an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field ProgrammableGate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor (may also be referred to herein as a hostprocessor or simply a host) may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. A general-purpose computer including a processor isconsidered a special-purpose computer while the general-purpose computeris configured to execute computing instructions (e.g., software code)related to embodiments of the present disclosure.

The embodiments may be described in terms of a process that is depictedas a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram.Although a flowchart may describe operational acts as a sequentialprocess, many of these acts can be performed in another sequence, inparallel, or substantially concurrently. In addition, the order of theacts may be re-arranged. A process may correspond to a method, a thread,a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. Furthermore,the methods disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, software,or both. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored ortransmitted as one or more instructions or code on computer-readablemedia. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another.

Any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first,”“second,” and so forth does not limit the quantity or order of thoseelements, unless such limitation is explicitly stated. Rather, thesedesignations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishingbetween two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, areference to first and second elements does not mean that only twoelements may be employed there or that the first element must precedethe second element in some manner. In addition, unless stated otherwise,a set of elements may comprise one or more elements.

As used herein, the term “substantially” in reference to a givenparameter, property, or condition means and includes to a degree thatone of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the givenparameter, property, or condition is met with a small degree ofvariance, such as, for example, within acceptable manufacturingtolerances. By way of example, depending on the particular parameter,property, or condition that is substantially met, the parameter,property, or condition may be at least 90% met, at least 95% met, oreven at least 99% met.

Elements described herein may include multiple instances of the sameelement. These elements may be generically indicated by a numericaldesignator (e.g., 110) and specifically indicated by the numericalindicator followed by an alphabetic designator (e.g., 110A) or analpha-numeric indicator preceded by a “dash” (e.g., 110-1 or 110-J). Forease of following the description, for the most part element numberindicators begin with the number of the drawing on which the elementsare introduced or most fully discussed. Thus, for example, elementidentifiers on a FIG. 1 will be mostly in the numerical format lxx andelements on a FIG. 4 will be mostly in the numerical format 4 xx.

As used in the present disclosure, the terms “unit,” “module,” “engine,”or “component” may refer to specific hardware implementations configuredto perform the actions of the unit, module or component and/or softwareobjects or software routines that may be stored on and/or executed bygeneral purpose hardware (e.g., computer-readable media, processingdevices, etc.) of a computing system. In some embodiments, the differentunits, components, modules, engines, and services described in thepresent disclosure may be implemented as objects or processes thatexecute on the computing system (e.g., as separate threads). While someof the system and methods described in the present disclosure aregenerally described as being implemented in software (stored on and/orexecuted by general purpose hardware), specific hardware implementationsor a combination of software and specific hardware implementations arealso possible and contemplated.

Various embodiments described herein relate to a fractal keyboard thatmay be used in a virtual reality (VR) office. The virtual “keys” aremapped to pre-determined directions in directional interface (e.g., athumb-stick). A graphical user interface (GUI) may represent the fractalkeyboard visually as well as the user interaction with the fractalkeyboard. The fractal keyboard may be invoked and used with variousapplications, including business applications such as applications forword processing, spreadsheet, presentations, web-browsing, e-mail andappointments, design and development, gaming and more.

As used herein, “virtual reality” and its abbreviation, “VR,” means acomputer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image orenvironment that may be interacted with in a seemingly real or physicalway by a person using interface devices, such as a headset with adisplay screen, gloves, and/or a thumbstick device. Virtual reality mayincorporate devices for visual, auditory, and sensory elements.Interface devices may incorporate sensors for gathering informationabout how a user interacts with a VR simulation, including one or moreof head movement, eye movement, arm and hand movement, body position,body temperature, and more.

As used herein, “virtual reality” and its abbreviation, “VR,” alsoincluded mixed-reality (which includes augmented-reality) simulations ofthree-dimensional images that “overlay” the real world. Suchmixed-reality simulations may be interacted with, again, in a seeminglyreal or physical way by a person using interface devices, and/or usingtheir body parts (head, hands, arms, legs) where movement is captured bycameras or other sensors associated with the headset or glasses thatprovide the simulated overlay of the mixed-reality.

FIG. 1A shows a GUI of a directionally oriented interface 100, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. The directionallyoriented interface 100 includes a number of segments, including panels101-108. Each panel 101-108 may be selectable and may include one ormore selectable objects. For example, panel 102 includes selectableobjects 111, 112, 113, and 114. A directional indicator 115 issubstantially at the center of the directionally oriented interface 100.The directional indicator 115 may be configured to point in any numberof directions. In some embodiments, the directions may be pre-configuredand may be associated with the number of selectable objects defined inthe directionally oriented interface 100. In FIG. 1A, the directionalindicator 115 is not pointing in any direction and is represented as adot in the center of the directionally oriented interface 100.

FIG. 1B shows a GUI of a directionally oriented keyboard 120, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. The directionalindicator 135 has been invoked (e.g., responsive to a user interfacedevice) and is pointing toward panel 121 and a selectable object 133(the letter “P”) of selectable objects 131-134. In various embodiments,the selectable objects may comprise letters and other keyboard functionsfound on keyboard layouts such as a Dvorak, QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ,HCESAR, MEMBRANE, or combinations thereof. The direction 136 isassociated with the letter “P,” and other directions (not shown) may beassociated with the other selectable objects 131, 132, and 134.Different systems may be used to represent the direction 136, forexample, an angle on a 360° full rotation, a position identifier,length/distance (e.g., by pixel or simulated distance), etc. The panel121 is shaded a darker grey than the other panels 121-128 and theshading may be a visual indicator of a grouping of selectable objects(here, the letters “I,” “U,” “O,” and “P”) toward which the directionalindicator 135 points. The letter “P” and area around it is shaded alighter grey than the rest of the panel 121 and the shading may be avisual indicator that the letter “P” is associated with the direction136, responsive to the directional indicator 135 being invoked in thedirection 136 by a user interface device.

In some embodiments, haptic feedback may be integrated with thedirectionally oriented keyboard 120. In such embodiments, hapticfeedback may be provided to a user interface device responsive to thedirectional indicator 135 being invoked in each direction. By way ofnon-limiting example, haptic feedback may be generated responsive to aninitial selection of a direction, a change in direction, selection of anobject, etc.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show one example of a GUI for a directionally orientedinterface, but other layouts are specifically contemplated, and the GUIneed not be circular. For example, the GUI may be a polygon, asemi-circle, or may have no outer boundary defining a specific shape.

FIG. 1C shows a directionally oriented keyboard 150 including the keysof a conventional keyboard, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. FIG. 1C also shows thumbstick input devices 170 configuredto generate directional information responsive to movement of thethumbsticks 171 and 172 in the directions 173 and 174. In oneembodiment, directional information from thumbstick 171 and directionalinformation for thumbstick 172 may be associated with different groupsof selectable objects. In another embodiment, directional informationfrom thumbstick 171 may be associated with one or more panels 151-158,and directional information from thumbstick 172 may be associated withone or more selectable objects in each panel. The thumbstick inputdevice 170 may include additional buttons, including trigger-typebuttons that may indicate a user selection of a selectable object, forexample, a selectable object associated with a direction indicated bythe thumbstick 172.

In other embodiments, d-pad input devices may be used instead of, or inadditional to, thumbstick input devices.

FIG. 2 shows a system 200 that provides a directionally orientedinterface in a VR environment, such as the directionally orientedkeyboard 120, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Thesystem 200 may include a VR workspace application 210, a VR displaycontrol engine 220, headset 230, an input device 240, and one or morebusiness applications 250.

The VR workspace application 210 may provide a virtual workspace to auser of the headset 230. The virtual workspace may provide a virtualcomputer, virtual monitors, objects for manipulation, virtual meetingrooms, and more. The VR workspace application 210 may allow a user tocall and run various business applications 250. The business application250 may include applications for word processing, spreadsheets,presentations, web-browsing, e-mail, and more.

The VR workspace application 210 may include a VR keyboard application211, one or more interface manager(s) 215, and one or more businessapplication manager(s) 216. In various embodiments, the VR keyboardapplication 211 may manage and store definitions/maps 213 fordirectionally oriented keyboards. The VR keyboard application 211 mayprovide the maps 213 and/or other elements to the VR display controlengine 220, which uses the maps to control display of a directionallyoriented keyboard 120 at the headset 230. The VR keyboard application211 may also provide the maps 213 and/or other elements to interfacemanager(s) 215, which use the maps to interpret directional informationreceived from an input device 240.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the VR keyboard application 211 isincorporated into the VR workspace application 210. In otherembodiments, the VR keyboard application 211 may be a device driver fora virtual keyboard associated with VR headset, such as headset 230. Sucha driver may include application programming interfaces (APIs) that maybe called, for example, by a virtual reality engine. In yet otherembodiments, the VR keyboard application 211 may be incorporated into anoperating system (OS), such as a WINDOWS® based OS, a MAC® OS, a UNIXbased OS, an ANDROID® based OS, or another OS. In yet other embodiments,the VR keyboard application 211 may be incorporated into a VR overlayapplication.

The interface manager(s) 215 may manage input and output with variousinterface devices, such as VR headsets, physical keyboards, thumbstickdevices, point-and-click devices, microphones, etc. The interfacemanager(s) 215 may communicate with one or more business applicationmanager(s) 216 and interface between the business application manager(s)216 and the VR display control engine 220. In various embodiments, theinterface manager(s) 215 may provide information to the VR displaycontrol engine 220 that may be used to generate a virtual workspace andthat allows a user to interact, via the virtual workspace environmentwith the business application(s) 250.

The business application manager(s) 216 may manage the various businessapplication(s) 250 that a user may interact with via a virtualworkspace, including calling the applications and using theapplications.

FIG. 3 shows a process 300 for invoking a directionally orientedkeyboard, such as the directionally oriented keyboard 150 shown in FIG.1C, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.Responsive to a request to display a virtual keyboard, the interfacemanager(s) 215 call the VR keyboard application 211, in operation 301.In one embodiment, the interface manager(s) 215 may instantiate aninterface manager specifically for the directionally oriented keyboard.The VR keyboard engine 214 receives the request (and/or parameterassociated with the virtual keyboard—e.g., type, function, constraintsrelated to a business application 250, etc.) to invoke the directionallyoriented keyboard and retrieves the map 213 from the Map dB 212responsive to the request, in operation 302. The VR keyboard application211 provides the map 213 and/or any other elements to the VR displaycontrol engine 220, in operation 303. The VR display control engine 220controls display of the directionally oriented keyboard at the headset230, in operation 304. The VR keyboard engine 214 provides the map 213and/or other elements to the interface manager(s) 215, in operation 305.The interface manager(s) 215 is/are configured responsive to thereceived map, in operation 306.

FIG. 4A shows a process 400 for selecting an object in a directionallyoriented keyboard, such as the directionally oriented keyboard 150 shownin FIG. 1C, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.While a directionally oriented keyboard 150 is invoked and displayed atthe headset 230, directional information from the input device 240 isreceived at the interface manager(s) 215, in operation 401. Theinterface manager(s) 215, responsive to the directional information andthe map 213, resolve an object (here, a letter) of the directionallyoriented keyboard 150, in operation 402. The interface manager(s) 215provide the selected object (i.e., letter) to the business applicationmanager(s) 216, in operation 403. The business application manager(s)216 provide the selected object to business application(s) 250 that isassociated with the invoked directionally oriented keyboard, inoperation 404.

FIG. 4B shows a process 420 for selecting an object in a directionallyoriented keyboard, such as the directionally oriented keyboard 150 shownin FIG. 1C, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.While a directionally oriented keyboard 150 is invoked and displayed atthe headset 230, directional information from the input device 240 isreceived at the interface manager(s) 215, in operation 421. Theinterface manager(s) 215, responsive to the directional information andthe map 213, resolve an object (here, associated with a letter) of thedirectionally oriented keyboard 150, in operation 422. The interfacemanager(s) 215 provide the selected object (or information associatedwith the object, e.g., a letter) to the VR display control engine 220,in operation 423. The VR display control engine 220 controls the displayof the directionally oriented keyboard at the headset such that a paneland/or object associated with the received directional informationincludes one or more visual indicators (such as the shading shown inFIG. 1B and FIG. 1C), in operation 424.

FIG. 4C shows a process 440 for selecting an object in a directionallyoriented keyboard, such as the directionally oriented keyboard 150 shownin FIG. 1C, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.While a directionally oriented keyboard 150 is invoked and displayed atthe headset 230, directional information from the input device 240 isreceived at the interface manager(s) 215, in operation 441. Theinterface manager(s) 215, responsive to the directional information andthe map 213, resolve an object (here, a letter) of the directionallyoriented keyboard 150, in operation 442. For example, the object mayrepresent an initial selection or a change in selection (e.g., change indirection of a directional indicator). The interface manager(s) 215provides a haptic feedback control command to the input device 240, inoperation 443, and the input device 240 receives the haptic feedbackcontrol command, in operation 444. The haptic feedback control commandmay comprise, among other things, a force and duration, or may includeidentifiers or values indicative of a force and duration. An actuator(not shown) at the input device 240, responsive to the received hapticfeedback command vibrates in a manner configured to provide sensoryfeedback to a user of the input device 240, in operation 445.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a layout of GUI's representing directionallyoriented menus, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 5A shows a directionally oriented menu 500 thatincludes a number of panels associated with menu items of a wordprocessing application, including panels 501, 502 and 503. In FIG. 5A,the directional indicator 505 points to panel 501, which is associatedwith menu item “HOME.” If the panel 501 is selected, a directionallyoriented sub-menu 510 is displayed, for example, replacing the menu 500or in the proximity of menu 500. FIG. 5B shows a sub-menu 510 associatedwith the “HOME” menu item, and may include a number of panels associatedwith sub-menu items of the “HOME” menu item, including 511, 512, and513. In FIG. 5B, the directional indicator 515 points to panel 511 andsub-menu item “Font,” which may be selected.

In the case of directionally oriented menus and sub-menus, the menustructure may be stored in the business applications 250. Themenu-structure may also be stored in a GUI definition of an OS, forexample, a MAC® OS.

FIG. 5C shows an alternative layout of a GUI representation of adirectionally oriented keyboard 520, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The selectable objects (e.g., letters and otherkeyboard functions) are arranged in concentric regions.

FIG. 6A shows a directionally oriented keyboard 600, in accordance withone or more embodiments of the disclosure. In one or more embodiments,directionally oriented keyboard 600 may include one or moredirectionally oriented sub-keyboards, here, fractal keyboard 610 andfractal keyboard 620. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6A, fractalkeyboards 610 and 620 include hexagonally-grouped selectable objects.More specifically, with reference to fractal keyboard 610 (but equallyapplicable to fractal keyboard 620), a selectable object 611-S iscentrally located in fractal keyboard 610, and other selectable objects611 are positioned around and outward from selectable object 611-S in apattern characterized by hexagonal grouping (i.e., an alternativefractal pattern). In this example, respective selectable objects 611have a hexagonal shape. In the embodiment of fractal keyboards 610 and620 shown in FIG. 6A, the pattern of selectable objects is symmetricalto the keyboards themselves as well as symmetrical across bothkeyboards, however, in other embodiments a different number ofselectable objects may be grouped such that the pattern of selectableobjects is not symmetrical.

In one or more embodiments, selectable objects 611 and 621 of fractalkeyboards 610 and 620, respectively, may be associated with characters,symbols, functions, and other elements associated with keys ofconventional and non-conventional keyboards. Here, selectable objects611 and 621 of fractal keyboards 610 and 620, respectively, areassociated with, and display, respective letters of the Englishalphabet, and together the selectable objects 611-S, 611, 621-J, and 621are associated with and display all letters (i.e., all 26 letters) ofthe English alphabet.

In one or more embodiments the system shown in FIG. 6A may also includethumbstick type input devices 630 and 640, which are configured togenerate directional information responsive to movement of thethumbsticks 631 and 641 in one or more of directions 632 and 642. In oneor more embodiments, input devices 630 and 640 may be associated withdifferent respective sub-keyboards of directionally oriented keyboard600. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6A, input device 630 is associatedwith fractal keyboard 610 and input device 640 is associated withfractal keyboard 620. Fractal keyboard 610 and fractal keyboard 620 aredisplayed simultaneously, and controllable by input device 630 and inputdevice 640, respectively.

In one embodiment, directional information from thumbstick 631 anddirectional information for thumbstick 641 may be associated withdifferent selectable objects 611 and 621 and/or groups of selectableobjects 611 and 621 of fractal keyboard 610 and fractal keyboard 620,respectively. More specifically, with reference to fractal keyboard 620(but equally applicable to fractal keyboard 610), each direction 642 maybe associated with a different selectable object 621 of fractal keyboard620. For example, direction 642-I may be associated with selectableobject 621-I, which is associated with the letter “I,” direction 642-Mmay be associated with selectable object 621-M, which is associated withthe letter “M,” and so forth.

In another embodiment, directional information from thumbstick 631 maybe associated with one or more selectable objects 611 and, anddirectional information from thumbstick 641 may be associated with oneor more selectable objects 621. Thumbstick type input devices 630 and640 may include additional buttons, including trigger-type buttonsand/or a depressible thumbstick that, when activated, indicate a userselection of a selectable object, for example, a selectable object 611associated with a direction indicated by thumbstick 631.

In one or more embodiments, some edges of selectable objects 611 and 621align visually with directions 632 and 642, respectively. Morespecifically, and again with reference to fractal keyboard 620 (butequally applicable to fractal keyboard 610), in the embodiment shown inFIG. 6A, edge 622 aligns with direction 642-I, edge 623 aligns withdirection 642-P, edge 624 aligns with direction 642-L, edge 625 alignswith direction 642-N, edge 626, aligns with direction 642-G, and edge627 aligns with direction 642-Y. Visually aligned edges 622, 623, 624,625, 626 and 627 assist a user with selecting a direction to movethumbstick 641 to select a selectable objects 621, and more specificallyto select a selectable object 621 that is not immediately adjacent acentrally located selectable object, here, selectable object 621-J.

In one or more embodiments, selectable objects 611-S and selectableobject 621-J are associated with a null or no-direction of directions632 and 642, respectively. By way of example, to select selectableobjects 611-S or selectable object 621-J, thumbstick 631 and thumbstick641 are not moved or urged toward any direction. In other words,selectable objects 611-S and 621-J may be considered automaticallyselected or default selections.

In one or more embodiments, a visual indication such as shading ofselectable objects 611-S and 621-J may be presented at fractal keyboards610 and 620, respectively, automatically. If directional information isreceived that is associated with a different selectable object then thatdifferent selectable object may be displayed with a visual indicator(e.g., shading).

In one or more embodiments, directionally oriented keyboard 600 maypresent a sub-keyboard responsive to an activation request (e.g., from abutton on one of input devices 630 and/or 640), and so it isspecifically contemplated that during use one, both, or neither offractal keyboard 610 and fractal keyboard 620 may be presented at anygiven time.

FIG. 6B shows an overlay of directions 632 and 642 onto fractal keyboard610 and 620, respectively, to illustrate alignment of directions withselectable objects, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6C shows how a key layout (i.e., which selectable objects areassociated with which letters) corresponds to a QWERTY key layoutstandard, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.Line 651 traverses selectable objects corresponding to Q, W, E, R, T, Y,U, I, O, and P, which in a QWERTY layout correspond to an upper row ofkeys. Line 652 traverses selectable objects corresponding to A, S, D, F,G, H, J, K, and L, which in a QWERTY layout correspond to a middle rowof keys. Line 653 traverses selectable objects corresponding to Z, X, C,V, B, N, and M, which in a QWERTY layout correspond to a lower row ofkeys. So, in some embodiments, selectable objects traversed by line 651may be characterized as an upper row of keys, selectable objectstraversed by line 652 may be characterized as a middle row of keys, andselectable objects traversed by line 653 may be characterized as a lowerrow of keys. This disclosure is not limited to fractal keyboards orother directionally oriented keyboards that implement layouts thatcorrespond to a QWERTY standard. Moreover, while selectable objects 611and 621 of fractal keyboards 610 and 620, respectively, are shownarranged in horizontal rows (i.e., to an observer), rows of selectableobjects may displayed at angles as if fractal keyboard 610 and/or 620were rotated about the z-axis of the coordinate axis shown in FIG. 6C.

FIG. 7 shows a virtual workspace 700 in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The virtual workspace 700 may be managed by a VRworkspace application 210 (FIG. 2) operating in conjunction with a VRdisplay control engine 220 (FIG. 2). Various headsets 230 may be usedwith a virtual workspace 700, for example, the HTC VIVE®, OCULUS RIFT®,SONY PLAYSTATION HOME® VR, SAMSUNG GEAR VR®, and GOOGLE DAYDREAM VIEW®.It is also specifically contemplated that may be use with mixed-realityheadsets (or headsets operating in a mixed-reality mode), for example,Microsoft HOLOLENS®.

A user may use an input device with a directional interface, such as theOCULUS TOUCH®, to interact with the virtual workspace 700. For example,if a directionally oriented keyboard has been invoked, then a user mayutilize a directional interface of an input device to select objects onthe directionally oriented keyboard. A user may move a thumbstick in adirection, and responsive to the movement in the direction one or moreobjects may be highlighted. A user may press a button or trigger toselect an object and use that object or the information associated withthe object with a business application, video game, or other softwareapplication.

FIG. 8 shows a virtual workspace 800 where fractal keyboards 810 and 820in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure are displayed and usedto interact with virtual workspace 800.

While letters are shown are shown and described herein, it isspecifically contemplated that the selectable objects may be numbers,non-English alphabet characters (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, and Cyrilliccharacters), symbols, images, and combinations thereof.

One advantage of the embodiments described herein is that a user maylearn to select keys on a directionally oriented keyboard withoutlooking at a visual representation of the directionally orientedkeyboard, for example, in a virtual workspace.

Another advantage of one or more of the embodiments described herein isthat directionally oriented interfaces may be customized for eachbusiness application.

Another advantage of one or more embodiments described herein is thatconventional application programming interfaces (API's) may beincorporated, and such API's may provide auto-correct and auto-suggestfor incorrectly “typed” keys.

While the present disclosure has been described herein with respect tocertain illustrated embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize and appreciate that the present invention is not so limited.Rather, many additions, deletions, and modifications to the illustratedand described embodiments may be made without departing from the scopeof the invention as hereinafter claimed along with their legalequivalents. In addition, features from one embodiment may be combinedwith features of another embodiment while still being encompassed withinthe scope of the invention as contemplated by the inventor.

We claim:
 1. A method of using a directionally oriented keyboard at avirtual reality environment, the method comprising: receivingdirectional information while a directionally oriented keyboard isinvoked; displaying a first visual indicator for a selected segment ofthe directionally oriented keyboard responsive to the directionalinformation, the selected segment including a first number of selectableobjects in a first concentric region and a second number of selectableobjects in a second, different concentric region, the selectable objectsof the first and second number of selectable objects arranged atlocations such that paths are visually defined that extend in asubstantially linear manner from a common reference location torespective selectable objects and respective ones of the paths providerespective ones of the selectable objects a direct line of sight to thecommon reference location; identifying a selectable object of the firstnumber of selectable objects of the selected segment responsive to thedirectional information; displaying a second visual indicator for theidentified selectable object responsive to identifying the selectableobject; and providing the selectable object to a business applicationthat is associated with the directionally oriented keyboard.